Last year we were all fruity and this year we are re- visiting the British favourite flying insect. The look ranges from very realistic groups, diaphanous more abstract clouds, botanical to a more folkorique approach. Whatever your preference Sublitex have looks suitable for blouses through to the staple holiday maxi dress.
Re-posting and up dating due to popular demand, Pastels, Indigos, multi or monochrome.
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The highly anticipated, most instagramed exhibition of the year, ‘Yayoi Kasuma– The Moving Moment When I Went To The Universe’ has touched down in London this winter. With the free ticketed exhibition selling out within a day for a 3 month period, we were lucky enough to get our hands on some tickets and see some of her finest work.
Own images
The highlight of the show was the infinity mirrored room “my heart is dancing to the universe”. The mirrored room is full of giant paper lanterns covered in polka dot patterns suspended from the ceiling. Conveying the illusion of being unmoored in endless space, this large-scale work, the latest example of Kusama’sfamed immersive environments, offers a sense of infinity through the interplay of the rhythmic patterns of colourfulspots covering the black spherical lamps and the surrounding mirrors.
Own images
Paintings from the artist’s celebrated, ongoing My Eternal Soul series are on view at Gallery II, Wharf Road. Joyfully improvisatory, fluid and highly instinctual, the My Eternal Soul paintings abound with imagery including eyes, faces in profile, and other more indeterminate forms, including the dots for which the artist is synonymous, to offer impressions of worlds at once microscopic and macroscopic.
Own images
About Yayoi Kasuma
For almost seventy years Yayoi Kusama has developed a practice, which, though it shares affiliations with movements such as Surrealism, Minimalism and Pop Art, resists any singular classification. Born in Matsumoto City, Japan in 1929, she studied painting in Kyoto before moving to New York in the late 1950s, and by the mid-1960s had become well known in the avant-garde world for her provocative happenings and exhibitions.
Since this time, Kusama’s extraordinary artistic endeavours have spanned painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, performance, film, printmaking, installation and environmental art as well as literature, fashion (most notably in her 2012 collaboration with Louis Vuitton) and product design.
Image: avenuemontaigneguide.com
Vuitton and Kasuma 2012 collection, Vogue.co.uk
In 2020 Kusamawill create her first permanent UK installation for the new Crossrailstation at Liverpool Street. Titled Infinite Accumulation, the site-specific work develops her instantly recognisablemotif – the polka dot – into a series of flowing, mirrored steel sculptures, each up to 12 metreswide and 10 metrestall. Below is a digitally rendered image of the installation:
https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/louis-vuitton-unveils-yayoi-kusama-collection
We loved the Batsheva print so much, we thought we would delve into the Sublitex archive to find prints within a similar vein:
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Happy Holidays and New Year from the new look theprintaffair.com
Festive wrapping paper is becoming more and more eclectic as the years go on. Foiling, flocking, glitter, novelty, you can now find wrapping paper suited for every type of gift receiver. Here we take a look at what wrapping paper we would like to see under our tree this Christmas:
The White Company
Festive wrapping paper is becoming more and more eclectic as the years go on. Foiling, flocking, glitter, novelty, you can now find wrapping paper suited for every type of gift receiver. Here we take a look at what wrapping paper we would like to see under our tree this Christmas:
Anthropologie
Stepping into a more novelty christmas, Anthropologie are jumping onto the well loved sausage dog trend with this fun and very cute wrapping paper suitable for all ages.
Anthropologie
Many wrapping papers are steering away from the typical christmas motifs we see year on year. We love this astrological printed wrapping paper from Anthropologie which harks back to the massive star trend we saw this time last year across fashion prints.
Abigale Walker at Selfridges
With Disney releasing their new film this year, The Nutcracker, it is no surprise that Selfridges are offering Nutcracker wrapping paper. Abigale walker offers a lovely range of tasteful novelty printed wrapping paper.
Oliver Bonas
Always cool and always tasteful, Oliver Bonas have created this ‘naughty or nice’ printed wrapping paper in beautiful type.
Paperchase
For all of you London dwellers, Paperchase have designed a wrapping paper based on the London Underground. With a play on the stations, this is a fun conversation starter on Christmas Day.
Rifle Paper
Rifle Paper’s print handwriting is always pretty and tasteful and they have made that no exception over the Christmas period. This Christmas lights design is easy and colourful under the tree.
Rifle Paper
There is still space for florals over Christmas. We love this leafy floral conversational with a dove, it feels festive yet fashionable.
Etsy
Etsy is a great place to look for hand printed or originally designed pieces. This design is based on gingerbread pieces which we think is perfect for the whole family.
Etsy
With novelty Christmas becoming a bigger trend every year, we love this design of dinosaurs wearing winter outfits.
This weeks trend has been skin and flowers for those planning for AW 2019. The look is rich and the skins more abstract as we have been predicting.
Snakes are not slithering away for Spring Summer 2019 but morphing into a softer more pastel palette. The reptile is shedding its skin to a looser and more abstract interpretation, with mirrored stripes, swirls and collages of serpentine elements.
This look is elegant and very wearable and can be worn both casually or as a statement print.
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They are back, the BCBG (bon chic, bon genre) look so popular in France in the 1990s and still going strong with the aspiring upper middle class. With a few choice items such as a touch of Hermes or Gucci mixed with Burberry, leather gloves, velvet Alice bands, Guerlain perfume and bauble jewelry, these combined are clear indicators of impeccable taste.
Photo Daily Mail, Photo Getty Images
Photo pets4homes, 9A495 001
We have had the tarty Versace, but now my friends we are moving upmarket to the more established looks of Gucci, Hermes, Burberry and the likes. Older fashion houses with better pedigree, simple but recognizable designs well suited to the country set, hunter wellies, ponies and the general whiff of damp labs and retrievers. Feast your eyes on the selection from Sublitex.
Vintage Agatha Paris baubles
Photo vintage Vanity Fair
However this may be the origin of the look but the high street will may this trendy, adding new coloursand twists to move this firmly back into the city. One way is taking the more nautical twist that suggests cruises not just the local yachting club. The inclusion of soft flowers amongst the chains and bridles suggests pumps over stout shoes.
Photo – Hunter
Photo Rachel Pally
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Sarah Glyn-Woods of Design and Colour Ltd and Karl Grobelny from Creation Robert Vernet
Sometimes it is important to say things as they are….it is very quiet in the world of printed textiles, clothing manufacture and retail sales. It was therefore no surprise that the Fair was quieter than usual. There were some stunning designs on offer from our friends at Vernet as there were from other studios and sellers of vintage archives.
Just to be totally uncommercial for a moment, what would we do without the wonderful array of vintage garments when foot traffic is slow. There were things that I had worn in the past and even certain items that I have kept and are in suitcases in the loft. There were interesting characters posing in some outrageously wonderful outfits, so thanks for cheering us up and you know who you are!
Recently a friend borrowed a 1970s knitted kaftan to go to a party and my other half pointed her out to my son at the bus stop saying ”well that ‘s a throw back to the past”. He failed to notice it was our friend or that it was one of my many cherished garments that he thinks I should part with.
Flowers were very much in evidence, as usual, but they were more painterly and some had a vintage cut out feel.Finally the photograph flowers appears to have faded away with the limited exception of some occasional wear seekers.
We had much interest in medium sized and smaller florals with a vintage feel but overall they needed to be very pretty.
Patchworks were popular; squared, diagonal or scarf prints from monochromatic to fresh multi coloured. The most popular flower for me was the poppy which appeared to have sneaked into most floral bouquets or be standing boldly in the forefront. The mixing of the poppy with other flowers and the looser shapes and variegated colour and texture moved the bloom safely away from the flower of remembrance day.
Laura Newton from Blueye Design and Kate Lerigoleur from CRV
Tie dyes a la Dior muted palette or in these playful bright colours were also very popular.
These were WGSN’s picks from Robert Vernet:
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